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The Museum’s Collections document the fate of Holocaust victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others through artifacts, documents, photos, films, books, personal stories, and more. Search below to view digital records and find material that you can access at our library and at the Shapell Center.

Also in German poster collection

German advertisement poster for the Hamburg-America Line’s transatlantic liners, St. Louis and Milwaukee. On May 13, 1939, the St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany with 937 passengers, almost all of whom were Jews fleeing the Third Reich. The majority of the passengers had applied for US visas, and planned to stay in Cuba until they could enter the United States. However, shortly before the ship set sail, Cuba invalidated the landing permits and transit visas of the Jewish refugee passengers. When the St. Louis arrived in Cuba on May 27, the Cuban government only allowed 28 passengers into the country. On June 2, the ship was ordered to leave Cuba. With 908 passengers still aboard, the St. Louis sailed to Miami, Florida where the Jewish refugees were again refused entry due to strict quota limits and isolationist sentiment. The St. Louis sailed back to Europe on June 6, 1939. Jewish organizations were able to secure entry visas for the passengers in Great Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands rather than return to Germany. Of the 620 passengers who returned to continental Europe, 254 died in the Holocaust. Gustav Schroeder, the captain of the St Louis was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations on March 11, 1993 in acknowledgement of his efforts to find safe passage for his Jewish passengers.

German, anti-Nazi political propaganda poster promoting the Social Democratic Party for the elections of 1932. The figure on the poster wears the brown garb of a Sturmabteilung (SA or Storm Trooper), a paramilitary organization that had a reputation for violence and intimidation against Jews and Nazi opponents. By June 1932, Germany was deep in the throes of the Great Depression, with six million unemployed. This economic distress contributed to a rise in the popularity of the Nazi Party who along with the Communist Party and the Social Democrats, were the most popular political parties in Germany. The Social Democrats ran on a platform of maintaining freedom, democracy and the Republic, honoring Germany’s political and financial obligations, job creation, governmental expenditure cuts to lower taxes, and free speech. When Germany held parliamentary elections in July of that year, the Nazi party won almost 40 percent of the electorate in the Reichstag to become the largest party in German parliament. However, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party failed to defeat incumbent Social Democratic President Paul von Hindenburg in the presidential election. With the backing of his majority party, Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933.

German anti-Nazi political propaganda poster promoting the Social Democratic Party for the elections of 1932. The poster features a man smashing a swastika, the most recognizable icon of Nazi Party. By June 1932, Germany was deep in the throes of the Great Depression, with six million unemployed. This economic distress contributed to a rise in the popularity of the Nazi Party who along with the Communist Party and the Social Democrats, were the most popular political parties in Germany. The Social Democrats ran on a platform of maintaining freedom, democracy and the Republic, honoring Germany’s political and financial obligations, job creation, governmental expenditure cuts to lower taxes, and free speech. When Germany held parliamentary elections in July of that year, the Nazi party won almost 40 percent of the electorate in the Reichstag to become the largest party in German parliament. However Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party failed to defeat incumbent Social Democratic President Paul von Hindenburg in the presidential election. With the backing of his majority party, Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933.

Anti-Nazi political poster from the 1932 German federal elections. The poster depicts Germany bleeding and covered in crosses, implying if the Nazis gained power, their systems of violence and intimidation would cause Germany and its people to suffer. By June 1932, Germany was deep in the throes of the Great Depression, with six million unemployed. This economic distress contributed to a rise in the popularity of the Nazi Party who along with the Communist Party and the Social Democrats, were the most popular political parties in Germany. The Social Democrats ran on a platform of maintaining freedom, democracy and the Republic, honoring Germany’s political and financial obligations, job creation, governmental expenditure cuts to lower taxes, and free speech. When Germany held parliamentary elections in July of that year, the Nazi party won almost 40 percent of the electorate in the Reichstag to become the largest party in German parliament. However Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party failed to defeat incumbent Social Democratic President Paul von Hindenburg in the presidential election. With the backing of his majority party, Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933.

Political poster promoting the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler for the German elections of 1932. By June 1932, Germany was deep in the throes of the Great Depression, with six million unemployed. This economic distress contributed to a rise in the popularity of the Nazi Party who along with the Communist Party and the Social Democrats, were the most popular political parties in Germany. The Nazis supported economic nationalism and distrusted international capital, preferring domestic production with the elimination of foreign competition. When Germany held parliamentary elections in July of that year, the Nazi party won almost 40 percent of the electorate in the Reichstag, becoming the largest party in German parliament. However Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party failed to defeat incumbent Social Democratic President Paul von Hindenburg in the presidential election. With the backing of his majority party, Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933.

Poster displaying three typed letters written by Austrian Bishops and other Catholic clergy members expressing support for Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria in 1938. The letters are marked with the signature and seal of Theodore Innitzer, Archbishop of Vienna. Austria had experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation, political dictatorship, and intense Nazi propaganda. When German troops entered the country on March 12, 1938 they received the enthusiastic support of most of the population, including the clergy, and Austria was incorporated into Germany the next day. The poster is an attempt to curry support for a referendum that would legitimize the annexation. In April, the German annexation was retroactively approved in a referendum that was manipulated by the Germans to indicate that about 99 percent of the Austrian people wanted the union.

Nazi political poster from the 1930s with a quote from Adolf Hitler calling for equality and peace. The same phrase was used in Nazi election propaganda leading up to Germany’s November 12, 1933 parliamentary elections. The demand for equality refers to the vote on whether Germany would withdrawal from the League of Nations, which it would do in October of that year. The quote may have been reused after Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss, when the Nazis held a referendum to legitimize their annexation.

Propaganda map of Europe showing German territorial gains and offensive movements of its army, navy and air force against its enemies in 1942. By 1942 Germany had made alliances with Finland, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary and had conquered France, Norway, and every European nation in Eastern Europe. The German invasion of the Soviet Union had pushed nearly into Moscow, Britain was fighting to maintain its presence in Africa and the Middle East, and the United States, who just entered the war in December 1941, had made no real impact as of yet. The map depicts Nazi Germany at the height of its domination over Europe.

Political campaign poster for the Reichstag elections of July 31, 1932, showing a muscular Aryan farmer with a swastika belt buckle, using a pitchfork to remove dwarfish caricatures of Nazi Party enemies. These parties are represented by former Chancellor of Germany Herman Müller, a caricature of a stereotypical Jewish businessman with a newspaper (the press) in his pocket, a businessman, and a communist. The Nazis blamed these groups for Germany’s loss in World War I, the failure of the Weimar Republic, and the economic depression that Germany was going through. The poster depicts the Nazis’ target demographic, a young, working class, Aryan man, disposing of the Nazis’ enemies, in essence, empowering the people to take Germany from the rich and powerful and return it to the hands of the farmers and working men.

Poster showing a figure shaded in red with stereotypical Jewish features setting fire to the numbers 1918. It is a propaganda advertisement for the 1944 Grossausstellung 1918 Exhibition, which was designed to show Germans why they were fighting World War II. The Exhibition was title 1918 in order to emphasize that Germany surrendered that year and showed how horrible the conditions in Germany were at the conclusion of World War I. The imagery of a man with Jewish features, with both the year and him presented in red, strongly implies the Nazi belief that Jewish Communists sabotaged the German war effort and brought forth the inevitable consequences for Germany.

German recruitment poster for the Sturmabteilung (SA), a Nazi paramilitary organization responsible for protecting party meetings, voter intimidation, and physically assaulting opponents. The wreath and sword symbol at the lower right are also featured on the SA sport badge and armband which were given out for physical accomplishment. As a result of the Great Depression and the growing popularity of the Nazi Party, SA membership swelled to 400,000 by 1932, and by 1933 membership was at approximately two million. On The Night of Long Knives, June 30, 1934, Hitler and the Schutzstaffel (SS) carried out a purge, murdering dozens of SA leaders including its cofounder and commander Ernst Röhm. Afterwards, the SA ceased to play a major role in Nazi affairs.

German text only poster declaring the German annexation of Austria, the Anschluss, as a long overdue homecoming for Austria. The poster highlights several important years and events in Austrian and German history. In 1806, France and Napoleon dissolved the Germanic Holy Roman Empire which had stood for nearly a thousand years, and created a French puppet state from the German kingdoms. The Revolutions of 1848 were a series of revolts against European monarchies that spread from France into Austria and the other German states. The revolts all ended in failure with the monarchies retaining their power. World War I ended in 1918 and the Treaties of Versailles and St. Germain were signed. The Allies placed the blame for the war on Germany and the Kingdom of Austria-Hungary and levied massive reparations against the two nations, forced them to cede territory, and broke up Austria Hungary into several smaller independent nations. Finally, in 1938, Germany annexed Austria, uniting the two German speaking peoples for the first time since the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.

Recruitment poster for the Waffen SS featuring a profile image of a uniformed soldier. The Waffen SS was the armed military division of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Nazi paramilitary organization that was responsible for security, intelligence gathering and analysis, and enforcing Nazi racial policies. They controlled the concentration camp system and planned and coordinated the Final Solution. The SS was originally formed in 1925 to protect Hitler along with other Nazi leaders and provide security at political meetings. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed Reichsführer-SS (Reich Leader of the SS) and turned the organization into an elite corps based on visions of racial purity and absolute loyalty to Hitler. The Waffen SS was established in 1939, eventually fielding more than twenty divisions and half a million men at its peak. The figure in the poster may have been based on Klemens Behler, who was an SS recruit at the time of the poster’s creation. He would go on to reach the rank of Obersturmbannführer (Senior assault unit leader) in the 23rd SS division, and was awarded the Knights Cross for his actions during the war.

National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) campaign poster featuring a black and white image of the heads of Adolf Hitler and Paul von Hindenburg. The quote below them is from poet Max von Schenkendorf and is inscribed on an 1897 monument to Kaiser Wilhelm I. The monument commemorates the founding of the German Empire and affirms German unity. The reuse of this quote, with its allusions to the monument and the German Empire, reaffirms the Nazi party platform of a union of all Germans. Forming a greater Germany through the abolition of the Treaty of Versailles and the return of lands lost in World War I was part of the Nazi Party platform. The image of Hitler’s face in front of Hindenburg’s and the text on the poster communicates that a reunion of German peoples and restoration of German national pride can only be accomplished through voting for Hitler and other Nazi Party candidates.

German poster for the 1932 Reichstag election showing a giant, muscular Aryan man looking down on dwarfish caricatures of the opposition candidates and German enemies. The poster features caricatures of former German chancellors Hermann Müller and Heinrich Brüning, as well as a figure wielding a bloody knife representing the threat of communism. A figure with stereotypical Jewish features and a newspaper in his pocket, denoting that the press is in the pocket of the Jews, is whispering in Müller’s ear, influencing his actions. Heinrich Brüning is holding a sign that references his use of emergency decrees and reliance on Section 48 of the Weimar Constitution during his term as chancellor from 1930-1932. The sign that the communist is holding shows their party’s interests are decidedly non-German, aligning with Russia and China. Müller’s sign implies that he and his Social Democratic Party work for the interest of the rich while the common man suffers.

Color poster of an iconic painting of Adolf Hitler printed in Germany during the Third Reich, 1933-1945. The original painting was created by Heinrich Knirr in 1935-1936, and was based on a photograph taken by Heinrich Hoffman in 1935. Hitler approved the image and it became popular as it was widely used on Nazi propaganda pieces. The slogan Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer (One People, One Country, One Leader) was one of the central slogans used by Hitler and the Nazi Party. Nazi propaganda portrayed their leader (Fuhrer) as the living embodiment of the German nation and people. This slogan reinforced the cult of Hitler and the sense of destiny that the Party claimed made him the savior of Germany and father of the German people.

Poster for Adolf Hitler’s 1932 presidential campaign as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) Presidential candidate against incumbent Paul von Hindenburg. This poster was designed by Hans Schweitzer, who went by the pseudonym Mjölnir (the hammer of Thor) and initially preserved by the FJM Rehse Archive and Museum of Contemporary History in Munich, a museum operated by the Nazi Party that preserved much of their early propaganda. By June 1932, Germany was deep in the throes of the Great Depression with six million unemployed. This economic distress contributed to a rise in the popularity of the Nazi Party who, along with the Communist Party and the Social Democrats, were the most popular political parties in Germany. This poster was designed to appeal to the unemployed and destitute and claimed that Hitler was their only hope. When Germany held parliamentary elections in July of that year, the Nazi party won almost 40 percent of the electorate in the Reichstag, becoming the largest party in German parliament. However, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party failed to defeat Hindenburg in the presidential election. With the support of his majority party, Hitler was appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg on January 30, 1933.

Political poster promoting the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler for the German elections of 1932. The image shows how, with the people’s support, the Nazi Party became the most popular political party in Germany. This poster was initially preserved by the FJM Rehse Archive and Museum of Contemporary History in Munich, a museum operated by the Nazi Party that preserved much of their early propaganda. By June 1932, Germany was deep in the throes of the Great Depression, with six million unemployed. This economic distress contributed to a rise in the popularity of the Nazi Party who along with the Communist Party and the Social Democrats, were the most popular political parties in Germany. When Germany held parliamentary elections in July of that year, the Nazi party won almost 40 percent of the electorate in the Reichstag, becoming the largest party in German parliament. However Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party failed to defeat incumbent Social Democratic President Paul von Hindenburg in the presidential election. With the support of his majority party, Hitler was appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg on January 30, 1933.

German World War II propaganda poster featuring a golden eagle soaring in front of a series of Nazi flags created by artist Hans Schweitzer, who went by the pseudonym Mjölnir (Thor’s Hammer). The flag in the image is an interpretation of the Reichskriegflagge (German War Flag). It was designed personally by Hitler and was flown by all military forces of Nazi Germany. In 1943, the tide of the war had begun to turn against the Germans. The early progress of the invasion of the Soviet Union had stalled and the American and British armies had virtually pushed the German armies out of Africa. The Nazis used Nationalistic symbols such as the ones depicted on this poster to inspire the public and army to fight on.

Poster depicting Adolf Hitler and Konrad Henlein shaking hands and promoting the German annexation of the Sudetenland. This image is a reproduction of a photograph of Hitler and Henlein’s meeting. In the original, Herman Goering is in the background but he has been edited out of this image. Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918 after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian state at the end of World War I. Within its borders was the Sudetenland, an area with a predominantly German ethnic population. Konrad Henlein founded the Sudeten German Party, whose goal was to achieve autonomy for the Sudeten community so that they could unite their region with Germany. As the Nazi party gained power in Germany, Henlein and the Sudetenland reunification movement aligned with the party and transitioned from the fringes to a mainstream, and sometimes violent, political force. The Sudeten Nazis’ activities included hostile outbreaks and provocative incidents, and in September 1938 extreme violence erupted requiring international intervention. On September 30, representatives of France, Britain, Italy, and Germany met in Munich and issued an ultimatum to Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland to Germany in exchange for a pledge of peace from Hitler. This poster was initially preserved by the FJM Rehse Archive and Museum of Contemporary History in Munich, a museum operated by the Nazi Party that preserved much of their early propaganda.

Political poster promoting Adolf Hitler for the German presidential elections of 1932. The poster features a man breaking chians on his wrists, implying that a vote for Hitler will stop the oppression that shackles the common man. Hitler ran as the National Socialist German Workers’ Party candidate against incumbent Paul von Hindenburg. This poster was designed by Hans Schweitzer, who went by the pseudonym Mjölnir (the hammer of Thor). By June 1932, Germany was deep in the throes of the Great Depression, with six million unemployed. This economic distress contributed to a rise in the popularity of the Nazi Party, who along with the Communist Party and the Social Democrats, were the most popular political parties in Germany. The Nazis supported economic nationalism and distrusted international capital, preferring domestic production with the elimination of foreign competition. When Germany held parliamentary elections in July of that year, the Nazi party won almost 40 percent of the electorate in the Reichstag, becoming the largest party in German parliament. However, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party failed to defeat incumbent Social Democratic President Paul von Hindenburg in the presidential election. With the support of his majority party, Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933.

Anschluss poster displaying several arms raised for the Nazi salute in support of the Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria in 1938. Austria had experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation, political dictatorship, and intense Nazi propaganda. When German troops entered the country on March 12, 1938 they received the enthusiastic support of most of the population, and Austria was incorporated into Germany the next day. The poster is an attempt to curry support for a referendum that would legitimize the annexation. On April 10, the German annexation was retroactively approved in a referendum that was manipulated by the Germans to indicate that about 99 percent of the Austrian people wanted the union. This poster was initially preserved by the FJM Rehse Archive and Museum of Contemporary History Munich, a museum operated by the Nazi Party that preserved much of their early propaganda.

German recruitment poster for the Waffen SS featuring photographs of high ranking SS officers and soldiers participating in their wartime activities. The Waffen SS was the armed military division of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Nazi paramilitary organization that was responsible for security, intelligence gathering and analysis, and enforcing Nazi racial policies. The SS controlled the concentration camp system and planned and coordinated the Final Solution. The SS was originally formed in 1925 to protect Hitler along with other Nazi leaders and provide security at political meetings. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed Reichsführer-SS (Reich Leader of the SS) and turned the organization into an elite corps based on visions of racial purity and absolute loyalty to Hitler. The Waffen SS was established in 1939 to strengthen the position of the SS relative to the army and German elites, eventually fielding more than twenty divisions and half a million men at its peak. Members of the Waffen SS were selected based on “racial” ancestry. Selected individuals were expected to have an Aryan Nordic lineage and volunteers were accepted from Germany, and later Norway, Denmark and Holland.

Recruitment poster for the Waffen SS featuring an image of a uniformed soldier and a Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler flag. The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Hitler’s personal bodyguard regiment. The Waffen SS was the armed military division of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Nazi paramilitary organization that was responsible for security, intelligence gathering and analysis, and enforcing Nazi racial policies. They controlled the concentration camp system and planned and coordinated the Final Solution. The SS was originally formed in 1925 to protect Hitler along with other Nazi leaders and provide security at political meetings. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed Reichsführer-SS (Reich Leader of the SS) and turned the organization into an elite corps based on visions of racial purity and absolute loyalty to Hitler. The Waffen SS was established in 1939 to strengthen the position of the SS relative to the army and German elites, eventually fielding more than twenty divisions and half a million men at its peak. Members of the Waffen SS were selected based on “racial” ancestry. Selected individuals were expected to have an Aryan Nordic lineage and volunteers were accepted from Germany, and later Norway, Denmark and Holland.

Recruitment poster for the Waffen SS featuring photographs of soldiers participating in their wartime duties. The Waffen SS was the armed military division of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Nazi paramilitary organization that was responsible for security, intelligence gathering and analysis, and enforcing Nazi racial policies. They controlled the concentration camp system and planned and coordinated the Final Solution. The SS was originally formed in 1925 to protect Hitler along with other Nazi leaders and provide security at political meetings. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed Reichsführer-SS (Reich Leader of the SS) and turned the organization into an elite corps based on visions of racial purity with absolute loyalty to Hitler. The Waffen SS was established in 1939 to strengthen the position of the SS relative to the army and German elites, eventually fielding more than twenty divisions and half a million men at its peak. Members of the Waffen SS were selected based on “racial” ancestry. Selected individuals were expected to have an Aryan Nordic lineage and volunteers were accepted from Germany, and later Norway, Denmark and Holland.

World War II Nazi propaganda poster with a diagram exposing the network of the worldwide Jewish conspiracy to Alled leaders, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. The poster was issued in 1941 for the Parole der Woche (Slogan of the Week) series produced by the Nazi Party in Germany from 1936-1943. The series was discontinued in 1943 because of paper shortages caused by the prolonged war.

Learn about over 1,000 camps and ghettos in Volume I and II of this encyclopedia, which are available as a free PDF download. This reference provides text, photographs, charts, maps, and extensive indexes.